It's a little tinier than I expected ...
The post is really image-heavy, so I'm putting it under a cut.
Thursday, December 11, 2014
Small Drawstring Bag
Mom suggested I make everyone's Christmas presents this year, so I'm going to try it! Today I made a little bag using this "fabric gift pouch" tutorial from A Spoonful of Sugar. I tweaked the directions slightly as I went along, so I'm going to show how I made it. (It's still very close to the original.) The bag took me about 2 hours overall, but a lot of that is from hand-sewing.
The post is really image-heavy, so I'm putting it under a cut.
The post is really image-heavy, so I'm putting it under a cut.
Monday, December 8, 2014
NaNo 2014 Results
I said I'd make a couple posts during November regarding NaNo and I never did ... Anyway! I managed to win NaNo for the second time this year, and I'm super proud of myself (*•̀ᴗ•́*)و ̑̑ It was a little iffy at times because I had a lot less motivation than I did last year, but I pushed through!
I stayed pretty on-point this year, compared to last year's super mad dash.
I wanted to focus more on the second part of the story this year, since I'd done the first part last time, but there are still a lot of holes I have to fill in from last year and I didn't have a very stable canon to work with. However, I did go through and write in some missing scenes from last year's when I got stuck, so I was at least productive. I'm expecting not to finish writing this part until after graduation because it's based on the characters' senior year, which I'm still in the process of experiencing myself.
But the good news from all of this is that I finally feel ready to start getting feedback on the first part of the story! I printed out the first chapter for a friend to read, and I'm hoping to give it to another friend once I get it back. Hopefully this will be even more motivation to finish up the story, if they're waiting on me to get everything together to keep reading.
One of these days I'll finally make a post about the story I'm writing. I feel like that would make it easier to talk about rather than having to be kind of vague like this ...
TL;DR I won NaNo again and I'm getting closer to having a completely finished story I can share with the world! So that's exciting.
Thursday, December 4, 2014
Books I've Read -- November
This was a super slow month, mostly because of NaNo, I think. I have a bunch of new books for December, though, so I'm really hoping to get through those a lot faster!
Tides by Betsy Cornwell, finished 11/6. Tides is actually a really good book about selkies -- I can't say that I've read any books about mermaids / sirens / selkies before, so it was really nice to be able to read it. I really loved the depth of the characters, and the worldbuilding seemed pretty solid. I think the biggest thing I have to say is that it's slightly insta-love, but even then both Noah and Mara are kind of cautious at first. It's definitely more character-driven than plot-driven, and I really liked that. The ending is kind of open, but there's apparently a sequel book coming, so I'm looking forward to reading that even if it focuses more on Mara's pod than anything else.
City of Glass by Cassandra Clare, finished 11/13. So in re-reading my review for City of Ashes, I think I can safely say that at least some of the unresolved / unexplained issues were covered. That said, I think City of Glass was easier for me to read because I asked my friend for spoilers. It wasn't as frustrating to read. (Also, it kept me occupied at the MVA when I went to get my driver's permit.) I really like the way it ended, though, as if it was only just a trilogy, so I'm still kind of torn on whether I'll keep reading. I feel like the next books will just drag things out longer than they need to be -- and that's kind of how it seems from skimming some of the reviews on Goodreads. Overall, I don't really think the characters in general are all that realistic or believable, but I think they were a little better in City of Glass than what I remember from the first two books.
Prophecy by Ellen Oh, finished 11/18. Prophecy is an okay book. I actually don't have much to say about it either way other than that the narration seemed a little Middle Grade-ish. And that I kept confusing a lot of the character's names, but that's mostly just because I'm not used to Korean names. It's not a bad book; it just wasn't all that captivating. (A lot of the reviews on Goodreads say it's a classic example of "telling over showing" and tropes, so keep that in mind.)
The Hangman's Revolution by Eoin Colfer, finished 11/25. This was radically different from The Reluctant Assassin, I think, but it was just as good. The worldbuilding for the Box Empire (or whatever it's called) seemed pretty legit. I think the biggest issue I had was trying to keep the two Thundercats straight, since for some reason I never seemed to match the names to the characters. That's just an issue on my part, though. I really love the type of action-adventure-science that always seems to come with the Artemis Fowl and the WARP books, and I kind of wish I knew for certain if there's a third book in the series. I don't know what the plot would be, but I would really like to at least know what happens after the end of The Hangman's Revolution.
Tides by Betsy Cornwell, finished 11/6. Tides is actually a really good book about selkies -- I can't say that I've read any books about mermaids / sirens / selkies before, so it was really nice to be able to read it. I really loved the depth of the characters, and the worldbuilding seemed pretty solid. I think the biggest thing I have to say is that it's slightly insta-love, but even then both Noah and Mara are kind of cautious at first. It's definitely more character-driven than plot-driven, and I really liked that. The ending is kind of open, but there's apparently a sequel book coming, so I'm looking forward to reading that even if it focuses more on Mara's pod than anything else.
City of Glass by Cassandra Clare, finished 11/13. So in re-reading my review for City of Ashes, I think I can safely say that at least some of the unresolved / unexplained issues were covered. That said, I think City of Glass was easier for me to read because I asked my friend for spoilers. It wasn't as frustrating to read. (Also, it kept me occupied at the MVA when I went to get my driver's permit.) I really like the way it ended, though, as if it was only just a trilogy, so I'm still kind of torn on whether I'll keep reading. I feel like the next books will just drag things out longer than they need to be -- and that's kind of how it seems from skimming some of the reviews on Goodreads. Overall, I don't really think the characters in general are all that realistic or believable, but I think they were a little better in City of Glass than what I remember from the first two books.
Prophecy by Ellen Oh, finished 11/18. Prophecy is an okay book. I actually don't have much to say about it either way other than that the narration seemed a little Middle Grade-ish. And that I kept confusing a lot of the character's names, but that's mostly just because I'm not used to Korean names. It's not a bad book; it just wasn't all that captivating. (A lot of the reviews on Goodreads say it's a classic example of "telling over showing" and tropes, so keep that in mind.)
The Hangman's Revolution by Eoin Colfer, finished 11/25. This was radically different from The Reluctant Assassin, I think, but it was just as good. The worldbuilding for the Box Empire (or whatever it's called) seemed pretty legit. I think the biggest issue I had was trying to keep the two Thundercats straight, since for some reason I never seemed to match the names to the characters. That's just an issue on my part, though. I really love the type of action-adventure-science that always seems to come with the Artemis Fowl and the WARP books, and I kind of wish I knew for certain if there's a third book in the series. I don't know what the plot would be, but I would really like to at least know what happens after the end of The Hangman's Revolution.
Friday, November 7, 2014
Animal Crossing: New Leaf
At the end of August, my cousin gave me his old 3DS that he didn't use anymore. The first game I bought for it was Animal Crossing: New Leaf (after deciding that Pokemon XY was too expensive), and I'm really glad with my choice! AC:NL is my favorite Animal Crossing game ♥
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I take a picture of my outfit and house when I start playing each day. It's really fun to see how everything progresses!
Basic town details:
Town name: Anderson
Mayor: Quinn
Other player characters: Nate, Fel, Sol
Native fruit: oranges
I decided to take a slightly different route than I usually did with my Animal Crossing games: my town and villagers are based off those of my NaNo, Aperture. For the past three games, the town name and players were just kind of random. I used my name in both Population Growing and Wild World, but used the name of an old OC for City Folk. It's really fun to see and work with my characters in a new universe!
I think New Leaf is the most fun of the Animal Crossing series! There's much more to do than in previous games, especially when you play as the mayor. I'm amazed with the possibilities for town customization! The island makes it really easy to earn money, especially if you play at night and get all the beetles, and the minigames are fun as well. (The island minigames are where I got most of my flowers, too, I'm not gonna lie.) I love the unlockable furniture customization and QR code reader. I've had a ton of fun looking up QR codes and fixing up furniture to give to the villagers.
I earned a lot of money in the first three days I played...
There are a lot of cool little details, too. You can hang certain things on the wall of your house, like shelves or pictures or clocks, and the camera angle goes around 360 degrees. Fruit and non-fruit trees are slightly different colors, and there are, like, 20 different fruit types to get. The dirt patterns look slightly more realistic. The villagers themselves seem to be even more unique! I've received a couple letters from my villagers out of the blue, even when I hadn't written them anything first, which had never happened to me before. I wrote them back and got another response the next day! They wave when you leave their house and are always understanding if you have to turn down one of their requests or otherwise can't follow through.
I went to Anime USA about a month after I got my 3DS, and I was able to streetpass at least 300 people. I also completely filled up my HHA showrooms! It's so much easier to order furniture through the model homes than have to wait for Nook / Timmy and Tommy to stock it, even though it can be a couple hundred bells more expensive.
I just recently unlocked Dream Suite! I'm working on funding it.
I know I'm definitely behind on the ACNL bandwagon since the game is over a year old, but I would definitely recommend it if you haven't played it yet! It's a very cute and lighthearted game with a lot of leeway in terms of game play. (◡‿◡✿)
Sunday, November 2, 2014
Books I've Read -- October
I'm really debating doing individual reviews for some books. I feel like some books deserve more than a paragraph. I feel like I'm not finishing as many books as I used to, and I don't know if it's because of the books I'm reading or because of something else. It's a little worrisome.
While We Run by Karen Healey, finished 10/7. I definitely liked While We Run more than When We Wake. I don't know whether it's because of the different narrator, or because there was less exposition, or maybe a little bit of both. It's very dystopian-like, with the whole "our government sucks and we're going to do something about it". It's kind of an open end, though, and I'm not sure if there's a third book, so I'm not entirely sure how I feel about that. I also have to include content warnings for blood / violence, emotional / psychological abuse, and mentions of sexual abuse. This book series is definitely pretty dark, so if you have any issues with any of those things, I would really suggest avoiding the series.
Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan, finished 10/8. Blood of Olympus was the only book in the PJO series that I had to wait for. And it killed me. But it was also the only book that I was able to speculate about with other people, without any of us knowing what was gonna happen, and the only book where I had to be careful what I mentioned after I finished it because not all of my friends were able to marathon it like I did. And I've gotta say, I think Blood of Olympus wrapped the entire series up really well. Kind of a fairy-tale, everybody-is-happy ending, but I appreciated it. I really appreciated being able to see how many people at school had copies of the book, and it's opened up conversation with a few people I wouldn't really have otherwise talked to. I really appreciate everything that I've experienced due to the Percy Jackson series, and I'm really glad I got into it before it ended.
These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner, finished 10/15. Sci-fi survival isn't really anything I've read before, so These Broken Stars was kind of new for me. The copy from the library was a pretty big book with a lot of words per page, so I thought it would take me longer to read than it actually did. It also seems to kind of fall into paranormal romance, slightly, which could be hit or miss. The romance was kind of ... obvious? There's obvious character development, but the character development leading up into the romance was kind of glaring to me. Everything regarding the world Lilac and Tarver are on is really interesting, and I wish there was more information on it, since it seems like the next book in the series focuses on a new couple.
City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare, finished 10/24. City of Ashes was a hot mess. I definitely wouldn't have finished it if my friend hadn't recommended it and lent me her personal copy. (So it was an obligation finish.) And I admit, I think part of my feelings about this book stem from reading negative reviews on goodreads for both it and City of Bones while I was reading. Not entirely the best idea in hindsight, and while I did enjoy reading the reviews, I admit that they probably influenced more of my opinion going into it than I usually want. I have to agree that the descriptions are too much purple prose-like and sometimes incredibly contradictory (including something like "shined blackly" -- how???), and there were at least a few different things where there were no explanations to how they managed to work completely around the established rules of the universe. Mainly, how vampires work. That's the biggest one I can think of. And runes. That too. And Clary and Jace are incredibly frustrating, both with their stupidity in general and their "oh we're apparently siblings but I still kind of like you" mentality. Like, ew. All of that said, though, I'm kind of curious to see if the next book manages to solve / answer anything, so I will be reading that. Hopefully it won't be as bad. (Even the friend that recommended City of Ashes said she threw it at the wall. So there's that.)
Towering by Alex Flinn, finished 10/29. Man, Towering was completely misleading. From the dust jacket synopsis, I assumed that Rachel would be the driving force of the book. She wasn't. Other than the opening chapter / prologue, she wasn't an apparent part of the book for a good portion of it. Even the Goodreads description is pretty misleading. The book seemed fairly normal for the first half, and then it took a really sudden (and unrealistic) turn in trying to explain what happened. Like, I know a Rapunzel retelling isn't going to be all that realistic, but whatever happened in Towering just didn't make sense, and almost kind of seemed like it was thrown into the plot. I mean, the explanations fit within the story, but they suddenly just appeared with really no warning. And then the insta-love was just ... it wasn't even insta-love. It was like they loved each other even before they met, and Rachel seemed awfully ok with kissing / physical contact with a boy she just met despite apparently not knowing any guy in real life ever. I really enjoyed A Kiss in Time, but I'm starting to wonder if it was actually a good book or if I just liked how fluffy it was.
While We Run by Karen Healey, finished 10/7. I definitely liked While We Run more than When We Wake. I don't know whether it's because of the different narrator, or because there was less exposition, or maybe a little bit of both. It's very dystopian-like, with the whole "our government sucks and we're going to do something about it". It's kind of an open end, though, and I'm not sure if there's a third book, so I'm not entirely sure how I feel about that. I also have to include content warnings for blood / violence, emotional / psychological abuse, and mentions of sexual abuse. This book series is definitely pretty dark, so if you have any issues with any of those things, I would really suggest avoiding the series.
Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan, finished 10/8. Blood of Olympus was the only book in the PJO series that I had to wait for. And it killed me. But it was also the only book that I was able to speculate about with other people, without any of us knowing what was gonna happen, and the only book where I had to be careful what I mentioned after I finished it because not all of my friends were able to marathon it like I did. And I've gotta say, I think Blood of Olympus wrapped the entire series up really well. Kind of a fairy-tale, everybody-is-happy ending, but I appreciated it. I really appreciated being able to see how many people at school had copies of the book, and it's opened up conversation with a few people I wouldn't really have otherwise talked to. I really appreciate everything that I've experienced due to the Percy Jackson series, and I'm really glad I got into it before it ended.
These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner, finished 10/15. Sci-fi survival isn't really anything I've read before, so These Broken Stars was kind of new for me. The copy from the library was a pretty big book with a lot of words per page, so I thought it would take me longer to read than it actually did. It also seems to kind of fall into paranormal romance, slightly, which could be hit or miss. The romance was kind of ... obvious? There's obvious character development, but the character development leading up into the romance was kind of glaring to me. Everything regarding the world Lilac and Tarver are on is really interesting, and I wish there was more information on it, since it seems like the next book in the series focuses on a new couple.
City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare, finished 10/24. City of Ashes was a hot mess. I definitely wouldn't have finished it if my friend hadn't recommended it and lent me her personal copy. (So it was an obligation finish.) And I admit, I think part of my feelings about this book stem from reading negative reviews on goodreads for both it and City of Bones while I was reading. Not entirely the best idea in hindsight, and while I did enjoy reading the reviews, I admit that they probably influenced more of my opinion going into it than I usually want. I have to agree that the descriptions are too much purple prose-like and sometimes incredibly contradictory (including something like "shined blackly" -- how???), and there were at least a few different things where there were no explanations to how they managed to work completely around the established rules of the universe. Mainly, how vampires work. That's the biggest one I can think of. And runes. That too. And Clary and Jace are incredibly frustrating, both with their stupidity in general and their "oh we're apparently siblings but I still kind of like you" mentality. Like, ew. All of that said, though, I'm kind of curious to see if the next book manages to solve / answer anything, so I will be reading that. Hopefully it won't be as bad. (Even the friend that recommended City of Ashes said she threw it at the wall. So there's that.)
Towering by Alex Flinn, finished 10/29. Man, Towering was completely misleading. From the dust jacket synopsis, I assumed that Rachel would be the driving force of the book. She wasn't. Other than the opening chapter / prologue, she wasn't an apparent part of the book for a good portion of it. Even the Goodreads description is pretty misleading. The book seemed fairly normal for the first half, and then it took a really sudden (and unrealistic) turn in trying to explain what happened. Like, I know a Rapunzel retelling isn't going to be all that realistic, but whatever happened in Towering just didn't make sense, and almost kind of seemed like it was thrown into the plot. I mean, the explanations fit within the story, but they suddenly just appeared with really no warning. And then the insta-love was just ... it wasn't even insta-love. It was like they loved each other even before they met, and Rachel seemed awfully ok with kissing / physical contact with a boy she just met despite apparently not knowing any guy in real life ever. I really enjoyed A Kiss in Time, but I'm starting to wonder if it was actually a good book or if I just liked how fluffy it was.
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